SOLVED: Furnace acting up (bad regulator)

Oldelevatorman · Apr 30, 2018

Had our furnace repaired a few weeks ago by a local mobile tech in our area. New board, igniter and thermostat. It's doing the same thing again. Temp set at 65 when I went to bed. Got down to 57 inside but never came on on its own but did when I turned it off and back on. Been working fine the last couple weeks we've been on the road till yesterday.

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Lynn1130 · Apr 30, 2018

Re: Furnace acting up again!

8 degrees seems like a big spread but did you slowly turn the temp on the thermostat up to see if it would come on? Mine has about a 5 degree difference between what it is set at and what it will come on at. Some of these thermostats are just not that accurate and location can make a difference too.

danemayer · Apr 30, 2018

Re: Furnace acting up again!

Oldelevman said:
Had our furnace repaired a few weeks ago by a local mobile tech in our area. New board, igniter and thermostat. It's doing the same thing again. Temp set at 65 when I went to bed. Got down to 57 inside but never came on on its own but did when I turned it off and back on. Been working fine the last couple weeks we've been on the road till yesterday.

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Sounds like a safety lockout after 3 failed ignition attempts or possibly obstructed airflow. Ensure you have nothing blocking the air return to the furnace and nothing restricting the airflow out of the floor registers. Check for insects or debris in the air intake and exhaust ports on the outside wall.

Make sure you have good propane flow. One way to check this is to try running from the other tank than you've been using. You could have a regulator problem on either side, or a partial blockage in one of the hoses. And if you open the tank valves too fast, you can trigger the overflow protection device and partially or completely shut down the propane flow.

Oldelevatorman · Apr 30, 2018

Re: Furnace acting up again!

Turned it down and it shut off then turned it up past inside temp and it came back on. No blocked vents, exterior has screen on it.

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jerryjay11 · Apr 30, 2018

Re: Furnace acting up again!

Still sounds like a safety cut-out. Check to ensure the external screen is clean, check igniter has no bugs. May need to pull it out and clean it or worst case replace it. Before doing that check all electrical connectors are snug. Loose connectors on blade terminals can give you problems. If a blade terminal is loose just squeeze the female connector a bit and reinstall.

wdk450 · Apr 30, 2018

Re: Furnace acting up again!

You know your furnace heat command goes from your thermostat, through a p.c. board ON THE AIR CONDITIONER, then on to the furnace. Connections, relay, or board itself in the air conditioner could be the problem (intermittent).

BusManRG · May 1, 2018

Re: Furnace acting up again!

Oldelevman said:
Had our furnace repaired a few weeks ago by a local mobile tech in our area. New board, igniter and thermostat. It's doing the same thing again. Temp set at 65 when I went to bed. Got down to 57 inside but never came on on its own but did when I turned it off and back on. Been working fine the last couple weeks we've been on the road till yesterday.

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Ours has done the exact same thing since the day we bought it. I’ll be anxiously reading to see if you find a solution. Had the thermostat changed out because that seem to be the obvious problem, but that did not take care of the issue. When you turn the furnace off and back on you can usually get the heater to come on and once it reaches the desired temperature it will turn off. But then it will not come on again no matter how cold it gets until you go out to the thermostat and turn the unit off and then back on. Made for some pretty chilly mornings this past winter. The only thing we haven’t really been able to get a handle on with this rig.

Sandy

BusManRG · May 18, 2018

Re: Furnace acting up again!

Have you had any luck tracking down the source of the problem yet? As I mentioned earlier we have the exact same problem. I was reminded about it last night here in Reno when the temperature dropped and the heater didn’t come back on, LOL. It’s easy to forget about until you wake up to a cold trailer.

Sandy

wdk450 · May 18, 2018

Re: Furnace acting up again!

BusManRG said:
Have you had any luck tracking down the source of the problem yet? As I mentioned earlier we have the exact same problem. I was reminded about it last night here in Reno when the temperature dropped and the heater didn’t come back on, LOL. It’s easy to forget about until you wake up to a cold trailer.

Sandy

Sandy:
You are depending on the original poster, OLDELEVMAN, reading this thread again and seeing your current post. You would have more likelihood of a response if you click on the original poster's name at the left of his first post, and click on the PM (Private Message) option. This will send an e-mail notification of your PM to OLDELEVMAN's e-mail.

But it would also be nice for the group to know what the solution was to the problem in this thread, too.

Oldelevatorman · May 19, 2018

Re: Furnace acting up again!

Here we are again almost 3 weeks later and it's been fine till yesterday. Turned it on after we got settled here in Columbia Falls, MT. First time, came on but no heat so shut down on its own. Second time, fired right up and got heat to temp setting. Used it again this afternoon and was fine. Tonight first time, no heat so it shut down. Second time it came on and heated up and here we are. We'll see what happens overnight. Will call a mobile guy on Monday and go from there. The only that wasn't replaced when it was rebuilt a few weeks back was the sail switch. Is that separate from the pc board?I don't know!

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Oldelevatorman · May 19, 2018

Re: Furnace acting up again!

Worked this morning. Never got cold enough last night but came on and warmed up when I turned up the thermostat.

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RoadJunkie · May 19, 2018

Re: Furnace acting up again!

You need to determine if the ignition spark is occurring and failing to light the furnace. If you can hear a clicking sound then the problem is that the furnace is simply not lightning consistently.

Start your furnace and ensure you have heat. Have a second person position themselves outside at the furnace. Turn the thermostat down until the fan is running but burners are off at the furnace. When the fan goes off, adjust the temperature up until the fan comes on. Listen for the ignition spark sound. If the sound occurs and the furnace doesn’t light, then you likely have a propane flow problem. Hose may be crimping as slides move, regulator, etc. I had to dissemble my jet manifold and clear it from...whatever.

wdk450 · May 19, 2018

Re: Furnace acting up again!

Oldelevman:
How much longer is your trip lasting? Could you hold off on repairs until you get back to Auburn (I looked at your profile)?

I was going to recommend you to AAA RV Appliance in Sacramento, but checking on the internet I think this long time business (over 40 years) is now closed. RV Dr. George (he passed, now run by his family) or Allied Trailer Supply's service center in Sacramento have done well for me when I went to them. Suburban Propane in Rancho Cordova does not list appliance service on their list of services, but they may know where to get you expert help on your Suburban Furnace. Maybe you could find a Suburban Propane office on your itinerary.

Good Luck!!!

Oldelevatorman · May 19, 2018

Re: Furnace acting up again!

It's fixed! Had a mobile guy come out, Andrew from Glacier RV Repair. It was a bad regulator. He checked the flow with a Manometer and it was about half what it should be. Put on a new regulator and it's all good. Furnace is much quieter and the oven will be easier to light I'm sure. Thought that might be the original problem and should have just done it. New board and igniter not needed I guess. Andrew might be the best RV tech we've ever come across. 5 stars for sure! If you have a problem near Kalispell, he's your guy!

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BusManRG · May 20, 2018

Re: Furnace acting up again!

Oldelevman said:
It's fixed! Had a mobile guy come out, Andrew from Glacier RV Repair. It was a bad regulator. He checked the flow with a Manometer and it was about half what it should be. Put on a new regulator and it's all good. Furnace is much quieter and the oven will be easier to light I'm sure. Thought that might be the original problem and should have just done it. New board and igniter not needed I guess. Andrew might be the best RV tech we've ever come across. 5 stars for sure! If you have a problem near Kalispell, he's your guy!

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Great to hear! We will give that fix a try and see if it take as care of our problem also.

Sandy

wdk450 · May 20, 2018

Re: Furnace acting up again!

Oldelevman said:
It's fixed! Had a mobile guy come out, Andrew from Glacier RV Repair. It was a bad regulator. He checked the flow with a Manometer and it was about half what it should be. Put on a new regulator and it's all good. Furnace is much quieter and the oven will be easier to light I'm sure. Thought that might be the original problem and should have just done it. New board and igniter not needed I guess. Andrew might be the best RV tech we've ever come across. 5 stars for sure! If you have a problem near Kalispell, he's your guy!

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HOORAY!!! How about putting a positive review on RVServiceReviews.com so that other RVers can learn about Andrew?

SOLVED: Furnace acting up (bad regulator)

Oldelevatorman

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Lynn1130

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danemayer

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Oldelevatorman

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jerryjay11

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wdk450

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BusManRG

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Oldelevatorman

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Oldelevatorman

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Oldelevatorman

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